27 research outputs found

    Development of a Field Test for Evaluating Aerobic Fitness

    Get PDF
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the reproducibility and utility of a standardised and externally paced field test (15-m Incremental Shuttle Walk and Run Test [15 mISWRT]) to assess aerobic fitness in middle-aged adults. 14 middle-aged participants performed the 15-m ISWRT 3 times within one week (Test 1, Test 2, Test 3). Reproducibility of the 15-m ISWRT was tested by comparing 15-m ISWRT performance (distance completed), HRmax, and V˙O2max for each test. The utility of the 15-m ISWRT for evaluating V˙O2max over a wide range in middle-aged adults was tested by comparing the range of V˙O2max obtained from the portable expired gas analyzer with the V˙O2max reference values and ranges for health promotion published by Japan\u27s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. A multiple comparison of distance completed in the 15-m ISWRT Test 1, Test 2, and Test 3 found no significant difference between Test 2 and Test 3. The ICC was 0.99 for Test 2 vs. Test 3. V˙O2max measured from the 15-m ISWRT in Test 3 had a minimum value of 22.8 ml/kg/min and a maximum value of 38.7 ml/kg/min. In conclusion, the 15-m ISWRT is reliable and useful for evaluating V˙O2max in middle-aged adults

    Diverse dystonin gene mutations cause distinct patterns of

    Get PDF
    Loss-of-function mutations in dystonin (DST) can cause hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type 6 (HSAN-VI) or epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS). Recently, DST-related diseases were recognized to be more complex than previously thought because a patient exhibited both neurological and skin manifestations, whereas others display only one or the other. A single DST locus produces at least three major DST isoforms: DST-a (neuronal isoform), DST-b (muscular isoform) and DST-e (epithelial isoform). Dystonia musculorum (dt) mice, which have mutations in Dst, were originally identified as spontaneous mutants displaying neurological phenotypes. To reveal the mechanisms underlying the phenotypic heterogeneity of DST-related diseases, we investigated two mutant strains with different mutations: a spontaneous Dst mutant (Dstdt-23Rbrcmice) and a gene-trap mutant (DstGt mice). The Dstdt-23Rbrc allele possesses a nonsense mutation in an exon shared by all Dst isoforms. The DstGt allele is predicted to inactivate Dst-a and Dst-bisoforms but not Dst-e There was a decrease in the levels of Dst-a mRNA in the neural tissue of both Dstdt-23Rbrc and DstGt homozygotes. Loss of sensory and autonomic nerve ends in the skin was observed in both Dstdt-23Rbrc and DstGt mice at postnatal stages. In contrast, Dst-e mRNA expression was reduced in the skin of Dstdt-23Rbrc mice but not in DstGt mice. Expression levels of Dst proteins in neural and cutaneous tissues correlated with Dst mRNAs. Because Dst-e encodes a structural protein in hemidesmosomes (HDs), we performed transmission electron microscopy. Lack of inner plaques and loss of keratin filament invasions underneath the HDs were observed in the basal keratinocytes of Dstdt-23Rbrc mice but not in those of DstGt mice; thus, the distinct phenotype of the skin of Dstdt-23Rbrc mice could be because of failure of Dst-e expression. These results indicate that distinct mutations within the Dst locus can cause different loss-of-function patterns among Dst isoforms, which accounts for the heterogeneous neural and skin phenotypes in dt mice and DST-related diseases

    Efficient Discrete Feature Encoding for Variational Quantum Classifier

    Full text link
    Recent days have witnessed significant interests in applying quantum-enhanced techniques for solving a variety of machine learning tasks. Variational methods that use quantum resources of imperfect quantum devices with the help of classical computing techniques are popular for supervised learning. Variational quantum classification (VQC) is one of such methods with possible quantum advantage in using quantum-enhanced features that are hard to compute by classical methods. Its performance depends on the mapping of classical features into a quantum-enhanced feature space. Although there have been many quantum-mapping functions proposed so far, there is little discussion on efficient mapping of discrete features, such as age group, zip code, and others, which are often significant for classifying datasets of interest. We first introduce the use of quantum random-access coding (QRAC) to map such discrete features efficiently into limited number of qubits for VQC. In numerical simulations, we present a range of encoding strategies and demonstrate their limitations and capabilities. We experimentally show that QRAC can help speeding up the training of VQC by reducing its parameters via saving on the number of qubits for the mapping. We confirm the effectiveness of the QRAC in VQC by experimenting on classification of real-world datasets with both simulators and real quantum devices

    Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy during good response to immuno-chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a case report

    No full text
    Abstract Background Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy is a rapidly progressive and fatal disease in which tumor cells embolize to the pulmonary microvasculature. This condition is characterized by severe dyspnea and right heart failure. Although pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy typically occurs in patients with untreated and/or advanced cancer, its occurrence in patients who are responding well to medical therapy is poorly documented. Case presentation A 68-year-old Japanese woman who had received four cycles of immuno-chemotherapy (pembrolizumab, carboplatin, and pemetrexed) followed by three cycles of maintenance therapy (pembrolizumab and pemetrexed) for advanced non-small cell lung cancer and had achieved a partial response with a stable clinical course was admitted to the emergency ward because of worsening breathlessness and general fatigue for 1 week. Chest computed tomography showed no evidence of tumor progression or any new lung lesion. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated right atrial and ventricular dilatation, tricuspid regurgitation, and a high trans-tricuspid pressure gradient of 65 mmHg. Despite her percutaneous oxygen saturation being 96% on room air at the time of admission, it worsened rapidly; the patient requiring 8 L/min of oxygen within 4 h. Repeat computed tomography with contrast medium revealed no evidence of pulmonary embolism. The patient developed progressive respiratory failure that was unresponsive to optimal cardio-pulmonary supportive therapy. An autopsy revealed tumorous clusters in pre-capillary lung vessels, whereas the primary lesion had shrunk to the point of almost complete resolution. Conclusion Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy occurs not only in patients with advanced and/or uncontrolled cancer but also in those whose primary lesion seems to have been well controlled by medical treatment

    Determining Factors for Independent Walking in Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery: Differences between Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, Heart Valve Surgery, and Aortic Surgery

    Get PDF
    Physical deconditioning often occurs during the acute phase after cardiovascular surgery, and unassisted walking is required to achieve independence, to manage cardiac diseases, and to prevent recurrences. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of independent walking after cardiovascular surgery. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in patients who underwent cardiovascular surgeries (total of 567 patients): 153 in the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) group, 312 in the heart valve surgery group, and 102 in the aortic surgery group. We evaluated the effect of each surgery group on the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) progression. The factors associated with independent walking were age, renal diseases, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, and post-operative respiratory complications in the CABG group. In the heart valve surgery group, the factors were New York Heart Association functional classification, renal and respiratory diseases, ICU length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilatory support, and post-operative cardiovascular and respiratory complications. In the aortic surgery group, these were ICU length of stay and acute kidney injury. The CR progression in patients who underwent aortic surgery was significantly longer than those who underwent CABG and heart valve surgery (p < 0.001). New intervention strategies are needed for patients with prolonged ICU stays
    corecore